Tuesday, March 07, 2006

They Write Letters

I don't represent the DFL; I can only answer for myself. But I am scared of living where we vote on whether members of a minority get privileges automatically granted the rest of us. I am scared of elections where winners are likely to be chosen by their commitment to discrimination. I am scared of politicians who speak of "tradition" just like those who once outlawed interracial marriages. I am scared of bigotry.

I am scared of being governed by the same superficial interpretations of scripture that once justified slavery. I am scared of polluting my religion with "principles" of hateful behavior. I am scared of a government that lets fanatics control its agenda. I am scared of theocracies.

I am scared of people who claim children are damaged because they disapprove of their family's makeup. I am scared of people who struggle to freeze society in some design they prefer, but accuse their opponents of social tinkering. I am scared of hypocrites.

I am scared of people who don't care who gets hurt as long as their side wins. I am scared of writers who bury our consciences in heaps of argument. I am scared of Katherine Kersten.

I am, and always have been, scared that when you've finished with the least (or least powerful) of these my brethren, you will do the same to me.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Well Said

I have never been much of a revolutionary. Even when I was young I tended to cringe at any kind of earnest, "to the barricades" kind of thinking. I tend to think in smaller strategic and tactical terms rather than large sweeping movements. However, I have come to realize that this is one of those times when something has to happen from the ground up. Washington has become a kind of aristocrisy, with all the attendant inbred, insular, corruption that eventually befalls a ruling elite.

The biggest sickness in our politics is this top down, elitist mentality in which people are fed a diet of information, entertainment, products and ideas that are focus grouped, soulless and commercial --- and which are then filtered through a ruling media class that is so psychologically cramped, so emotionally sterile, so stuck in their own feedback loop that they are presenting a totally distorted version of reality. It's important that we look elsewhere for wisdom and leadership.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Separation of Church and State

In case you are too ignorant to understand why keeping the government out of the religous sphere (and vice-versa) is not only important for the protection of religious freedom but also crucial for a functioning democracy, Digby explains.

Monday, July 25, 2005

Government Defies an Order to Release Iraq Abuse Photos

NYTimes: "Lawyers for the Defense Department are refusing to cooperate with a federal judge's order to release secret photographs and videotapes related to the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal." Read article here.

It is amazing how much damage can be done during these stalling techniques by the Administration. For example, the Bush Administration's lawyers argued to have the investigation of the Plame/CIA outing incident completed after the election. As a result, Bush remains president. There is no way he would have won if this Rove trickery had come out before the election. Now, we have the release of more Abu Ghraib photos being delayed. How many more people will die in Iraq as this evidence is stalled?